Most Americans assume that all U.S. citizens have a right to vote and a
right to representation (two Senators and a Representative). However,
this is not the case for the approximately 600,000 residents of the
District of Columbia. Although these citizens live in our nation’s
capital, pay federal taxes and serve in the armed forces, they do not
have representation in their federal legislature. District residents have no representation in
the Senate and a non-voting Delegate in the House. As a
result, DC residents are relegated to second-class citizenship. They
are unable to bring grievances to influential Federal officials or reap
the benefits Senators and Representatives are able to provide to their
constituents.

While DC residents did have representation in the
early 1790’s, DC residents lost their right to vote in 1801 after the
passage of the Organic Act, when Congress voted to take control of the
District of Columbia. This occurred just ten years after the
ratification of the U.S. Constitution and a mere 26 years after the
famous declaration by Sam Adams--“No Taxation Without Representation”-- a version on the motto remains on DC license plates today.

FairVote firmly stands behind the right of
every U.S. citizen to have a meaningful vote. DC residents are no different than all
other Americans and should not be treated as such. If Congress can take away voting rights of
citizens, then surely it can replace them. Every DC resident should be
able to elect a voting member of the House of Representatives and two U.S. Senators.